Today on Bold Steps with Mark job, we're learning how to be clear and confident about God's call for our life.
When the church begins to discover the power of the Spirit of God, when you start realizing I have a gift, it's united to the bigger mission that we have together, and people rise up and start fulfilling their mission. Then watch out world, because the church has just awakened.
God places a call in everyone's life, so why do some people understand their purpose right away, while it takes other people a long time to get the revelation? Well, that's the topic Mark we'll address today. Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community Church and the president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. As we move forward, our
series is when you believe everything changes. Mark will be taking us to the book of Ephesians, chapter three to explain the secret to freedom and confidence. We started this message yesterday, so if you missed the first part, you can listen online at Bold Steps. All right. Now let's get into today's message. Here's Mark Jobe with bold steps.
Your revelation of of a topic of something fuels the fire for your mission. Other people may may know that marriages need help and there's a lot of marriages in trouble. But if you have a call to help marriages out, you will have revelation about marriages and understand the severity of the problems and marriages. And that sense of understanding will fuel your mission to do something about marriages that
are in trouble. Whatever, whatever your mission is, you'll have understanding into the nature of the problem that you're addressing that will fuel the fire to help you accomplish your mission better, and other people just won't get it. They'll look at you and say, huh? What? Oh, this is real big. You're all excited about it. They're like, okay, I don't get it. Why? Because they don't have the same call that you have, so they may not get it or may not be as impassioned as you are
about it. Paul was in a passion to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and the other Jewish believers were like Gentiles. Why should we worry about them? But but he had a special call and revelation to them. Number three write this down. Empowerment. Look at verse seven. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given to me through the working of his power.
Although I am less than the least of God's people, this grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past has been hidden in God. I love this about Paul. Paul is saying I became a servant of this gospel. I am the least of the least qualified for this. I couldn't do this on my own. I have no power to accomplish this. But it's God's grace that gives
me power to make sure this happens. Listen to me. Your personal, unique mission that God has called you to. Chances are that you're absolutely unqualified to fulfill it. Totally overwhelmed in seeking to make it happen, because it should be something that's bigger than you that you could not accomplish without the supernatural empowerment of God's grace in your life. Because if you could do it on your own power, it would be glory to you. But you realize I
can't do this. It's way bigger than me I need God. I need his grace. It's his grace that gives me power to do that. Then it's glory to God. Because listen, this is what Paul said. When I am weak, then I am strong. God's grace is made perfect in my weakness. Do you understand that? That most of the things that God calls us to do, we are ill equipped, uneducated, unprepared, and under-resourced to be able to accomplish most of the things that God calls us to do. We depend heavily
on God's grace to make it happen. And if you think that you're prepared and qualified to do what God has called you to do, then you probably haven't landed on your mission yet. Because usually your mission is way bigger than what you have the power to accomplish. Paul says. I am the least. And even though I am the least. God has prepared me. You look all through the Bible, by the way, and you'll find stories of God calling people to do things that they could not do on
their own power. God called Gideon to liberate the people of Israel. God called a mighty warrior when he was afraid and didn't know what to do and never been trained militarily. God called Moses to speak on his behalf, and Moses said, I don't know how to speak. God called Peter to lead the church, and he was just a fisherman. God called David to lead a nation and to be a warrior. And he had never really fought, didn't know how to use a sword, and he was
the least of his brethren. God called Jeremiah the prophet, and he said, I'm too young. Normally when God calls us to do something, we feel like we don't have what it takes to do what God has called us to do. And what I want to say is that is okay, because on our own power you can't do it. But with God's grace, you have the power to accomplish the things that he's called you to do. It's God's grace.
God's grace. Number four. It tells us in verse ten his intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. And in him, and through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Number four, the fourth word I want you to understand is the word community. Unity. Listen to
what it says in verse ten. His intent was that now, through what I didn't hear you through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known through the church. You see, the way it works is this you have been called, you have a mission, you have a gift. But it's all connected to the body of Christ. It's all connected to the church. You're a part of a community of faith. You're not disconnected. You're connected. And whatever gift God has given you, he empowers through the church.
And your gift is used with other people's gifts that are used. And when everybody is using their gift, then the church becomes this mighty, powerful force of transformation that God is working in. When, when when everybody's using their gift. Now hear me well. Often the church is unhealthy because oftentimes what the church is, is like, well, it's like going to a football game. There's how many people in
a football team out on the field? There's 11. So there's 22 people out in a football field that desperately need a rest, and there's 40,000 spectators that desperately need exercise. The spectators are sitting there with their beer and their popcorn and their pot bellies saying, come on, go harder, man, those lazy bums. You're sitting on the chair. These guys are down there sweating and breathing hard, and we're all
like coaches on the sideline. Tell them what to do and how to do it, and bemoaning the fact that they're not into it as much as they should be into it. But in reality, the church at times looks like a football field. The church at times has this incredible potential of people, and normally there's a few people down in the field going. I'm tired running around trying to, carrying the ball, doing the work. And and the great majority of the people in the church tend to be spectators.
You know why? Because the great majority of the people in the church have not discovered that they have gifts
that they can, that they're empowered. They have not discovered that they're players in the game to that God has called them just as much as he's called the pastor, the worship leaders, the Sunday school teachers as well, that everybody has a call, that everybody has a gift, that we're all connected, and that when everybody in the body begins to discover the gifts that we have and we begin to use the gifts that we have, then the church becomes the place where God manifests his glory and power.
And that's why Jesus said of the church that the gates of hell would not be able to withstand or prevail against the church of the Living God. In other words, all of the gates of hell cannot stop the power of a church that's been unleashed with the power of God, the power of the spirit, and everybody using their gifts. Someone better get excited about that.
You're listening to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, and I'm so grateful for those of you who listen each day. And for those of you who become bold partners. Mark, we cannot neglect the fact that God has called some listeners to really get behind it and and catch the vision for what we're doing here.
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What we do because of our bold partners. And these are people that simply say, I love this program, I believe in this message. I want other people to hear. So I'm giving a monthly donation. Automatic monthly donation, no matter what the size it is to support this ministry and we are so grateful for our bold partners.
Yeah, anyone who runs a budget, a monthly budget knows how important it is to know what's what's going to happen. You know, to have some basis and to have these bold partners give it a monthly basis is so encouraging. Here's a note from a listener in Illinois. This is by way of reporting back to our bold partners. My name is Brian. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for turning my life to Christ.
Your program has really helped me use logical thinking and the Word of God to finally get my life back on track. Even though I may still struggle with some things, your program is always a way to keep me on track with what God's loving plan has in store for me. Thank you so much pastor Mark and the entire Moody Crew for all your work. May God bless you.
Hey Brian, what a great testimony that's so encouraging.
And we are happy to come alongside of you and encourage you. Stories like Brian are coming in left and right from all over the country, and so we're so grateful for the power of the word and the partnership of our bold partners.
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It was his intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and the authorities. This is talking about the spiritual world, that when the church is united and people begin to embrace their call and use their call, that it speaks volumes to the spiritual world. When the church is united and the church is pursuing its call, then what it begins to say is we are united. So therefore we have influence. We are united and filled with
the Spirit of God. So therefore we reign. We are united and filled with the Spirit of God. So therefore we have power to change things. When the church is asleep and people have not discovered that there's unity within the body, and that all of us have our gift when the church is asleep, it also sends the message we are powerless. We are victims. We have little chance of changing anything. We are spectators. We are captivated within four walls and do nothing outside of those four walls.
When the church is divided and the church has not understood the gifting, the people in the church have not understood the gifting. Then the church becomes anemic, weak, concentrated within its own walls. When the church begins to discover the power of the Spirit of God, when you start realizing, I have a gift, I have a mission. It's united to the bigger mission that we have together, and people rise up and start fulfilling their mission. Then watch out, world,
because the church has just awakened. And Paul says in verse 11, according to his eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith, we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you therefore not to be discouraged because of my suffering for you, which is your glory. Paul was trying to tell them is, hey, rise up! You are the church full of the power of God. You have gifts. You have a mission. You can do things. You are the
manifestation of God's presence here on earth. Let me tell you why I'm a pastor. I never grew up wanting to be a pastor. Some people do. Some people from the age of two, they say, I'm going to be a pastor. I know that I never did. Never wanted to be a pastor. Never really saw myself as a pastor. Thought I'd be a pretty lousy pastor, actually. I remember the turning point for me where I decided I was
actually studying. I was in college, and I had gone away to work at a hotel in France, in southern France, working as a dishwasher, cleaning rooms. I was about 17, 18 years old, making money, and, um, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wasn't positive of where, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to throw my life into. And, and, um, I remember getting a hold of a book by A.W. Tozer called The Knowledge of the Holy. I was trying to figure out what am I going to do with my life and what
do I want to do? I mean, I knew I was a Christian and I knew I, I was going to somehow do something with my life, but I didn't know what career or whatever I was going to pursue. And I got Ahold of this book by A.W. Tozer called The Knowledge of the Holy. The whole book is about knowing God that you can never quite comprehend the magnitude of God with your finite mind, that God is bigger than what you could ever know or fathom or imagine. And that part of our journey is just to get
to know God. And don't worry so much about what you're going to do. Worry about knowing God. And as you know God and live for God, you'll end up doing what you're supposed to do in God. And I remember having that revelation and, and, having that sense of, okay, I'm not going to worry as much about what I'm going to do, but I'm going to worry about actually knowing God and living for God in whatever I do.
And it was through that determination. It was through that purpose that although I didn't plan on being a pastor and didn't plan on coming to Chicago, didn't plan on that, it was through that experience that actually, when the door opened, I found myself saying yes to helping out a little church that wanted a pastor. Although I said, I'm just going to help you out here for a little bit because you need to get yourself like a real pastor.
And I'm only going to help you out for three years until you can pay someone a salary and kind of get up and going. Then. Then I'm out of here. It was a simply, God, I'm going to live for you. I prayed for a young woman, uh, this morning, uh, that was trying to figure out what college she's going
to in the university. And I said to her, listen, I know that the future can be daunting, but I'm going to challenge you to instead of trying to figure out all your future, I'm going to challenge you to figure out your walk with God and say, yes, God, I will live for you now. Yes, God, I will
do your bidding. Yes, Lord. And as you begin to live day by day in his will, what you will discover is that your future will be your future will end up being the will of God, because you will begin to make the right decisions at the right time, the right choices, and you'll end up right in the center of where God wants you to be, even though you hadn't planned it that way. Some of you are saying, What's God's will for my life? I just try to make a ten year plan and I can't figure it out. Well,
here's what I know today. Live for God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, on all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will direct your path. I'm not saying it's bad to plan plan. But listen, the plans of man aren't always the plans of God and God's plan supersede or trump the plans of man. And that's the way God works. He leads us in his divine path as we say
yes to God. As we discover our calling and purposes as we as we discover what what God has, and we embrace what God has and realize that we can be used. And here's what I totally understand, and I'll close with this. Listen, here's what I fully, fully understand. What makes New life community church a church to be reckoned with in Chicago. A church to be reckoned with
in the spiritual realm is not pastor Mark. What makes this church a church that has power and might is when the people of God is when the church awakens to its calling. And there's literally thousands of people saying, I too can be used of God because I have
a gift and I have a calling. When thousands of people are awakened to the reality that they have a gift and a calling that God can use them, that they also can pray for people and counsel people and minister to people, that they have the same Holy Spirit inside of them, that some of the people that they see up on the platform, that they can make disciples, that God gives visions and dreams, that they're a part of something bigger, that their gifts can be released and
unleashed to do the bidding of God. When a church begins to discover that when people begin to arise, to that, be awakened to that reality, then watch out, because the church has just woken up and become what God has called it to be a church that is unleashed, full of people of God doing the work of God. That's my prayer. That's my desire. I don't want to pray for everybody and marry everybody and bury everybody and baptize everybody and lead everybody to Christ. I have no desire
to do all that. I mean, I want to do my part. I have a desire to unleash you. I have a desire to unleash you, to begin to do things that you never thought you could do. But you have the Spirit of God inside of you. And believe me, some of you can do parts of ministry much better than I can do it. There are certain parts of ministry I just don't. I try not to do because I'm not really good at it. I try to stick with what I'm good at. But there are some of
you that do certain things in ministry. Way better than I could do those things in ministry. But you haven't discovered that that you have the Spirit of God. The same Spirit of God that dwells in me is the same Spirit of God that dwells in you. The same callings of God that I have, or the pastoral team have, is the same callings of God, that you have the same anointings, the same purposes, the same drive. We're all
in this together. And there's something powerful about understanding that and realizing that and waking up to that, that God, you have called us together to make a difference. It's the church unleashed by his power and by his might.
Learning to answer God's call for your life. That's today's topic from Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps. Mark. I love what you said to those who know God's call for their lives, but what do you say to those who feel like they're not doing enough? Or maybe they feel like they've missed God's call?
Yeah. You know, I would say, first of all, rest in God's grace because our calling is never about striving to achieve or to earn the merit of God. That's been done for us. We serve in our calling, uh, because we love God, not because we're trying to earn the favor of God.
And there's always time in God's plan.
There is. And you know Moses. Think about this. Moses was 80 years old when he finally discovered his calling. So some of you have some time in your life.
Maybe we have time. Who knows? Thank you, Mark, for such a great message today. Well, if you just pray that God would show you your next bold step, we'd love to hear from you. You can find us online at Bold Steps org. You can email us at Bold Steps. You can also call us and leave a recorded message over the phone by dialing 312329 2011. That's (312) 329-2011. And of course, as always our mailing option. Send your letter to Bold steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten.
Before we wrap up today, I've got a question for you. Who are you, really? When someone asks, tell me about yourself. What do you say? Well, the world often assigns us labels. As followers of King Jesus, we've been given a brand new identity. And that's why we're excited to offer you a new 15 day devotional from the desk of Mark job. It's titled More Than a Label Discovering Who You Are in Christ. In this powerful new resource, Doctor Job takes you on a journey through God's Word to reveal the
truth about your identity in Christ. Through this devotional, you'll uncover who God created you to be, why your identity matters, and how to live out your true purpose in calling. This exclusive new resource is available to you with your donation of any size to support this ministry. So whether it's a single donation or a faithful investment. As one of our monthly bold partners, request your copy of More
Than a Label when you give today at Bird-stamps.org. In the meantime, why not subscribe to our new Bold Steps app? It's your one stop destination for powerful and encouraging sermon content from Mark Jobe, available in both video and audio formats. And whether you're at the gym or walking through the grocery store or commuting to work, you can take bold biblical teaching with you wherever you go. Download the app
today and stay connected to truth that transforms. Head to your favorite app store and look for the Bold Steps app today. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us tomorrow when Mark turns to the book of Ephesians, chapter three to show us what the greatest power in the world is, and we'll see you next time on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.